World Health Organization (WHO) held a workshop this Thursday on bird flu where are the experts They asked to be on guard in the face of possible new cases after the first death from the H5N2 variant was confirmed in Mexico, although they stressed that the risk of human infection remains low for now.

“Recent infections in humans indicate that we must strengthen surveillance and monitor the evolution of these viruses“,” Ian Brown, president of the influenza expert network coordinated by the World Organization for Animal Health (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said at the seminar.

This year the WHO was notified 11 cases of bird fluincluding three cases of H5N1 associated with cattle in the United States, which are of increased concern in public health networks due to the increasing adaptation of the virus to mammals and its possible mutation allowing it to be transmitted between them, not just from birds.

“At the moment, the dominant subtype is H5N1, which is “successfully” maintaining its spread in birds, since they are currently its ideal vehicle for transmission, although it is already Infestations of mammals occur from time to time“Brown remembers.

Cattle infections reported this year “tell us not to take for granted that there are limits to which this virus may not reach,” he added.

The case was reported in Mexico on Wednesday. 59-year-old man who died on April 24 and whose cause of infection has not yet been determined, this is the world’s first report of H5N2 in humans after two decades of close monitoring of the H5N1 subtype, with nearly 900 people infected, of whom more than half died.

“Mexico is a country that has suffered from avian influenza (in birds) for many years, with outbreaks of H5N2 circulating mainly in poultry and sometimes in wild birds. At the moment, we need more data to come to new conclusions,” Brown emphasized.

At the seminar, WHO technical director for influenza prevention, Aspen Hammond, added that two cases of H5N1 infection identified in the United States had conjunctivitis among the symptoms, and recalled that there had also been three cases of influenza infection reported this year. H5N6.

This year, US authorities have identified cases of the disease in animals on 81 farms in nine states.

According to Brown, subtypes of bird flu are currently circulating on every continent on the planet, including Antarctica. with the exception of Oceania, and last month alone there were 22 outbreaks that resulted in death or forced sacrifice. 3.5 million birds.

“Over the past two to three years, there have been significant changes in the virus, affecting a much larger range of wild species,” the expert added, emphasizing that the pathogen has been found in about 300 species, including some that may be endangered. extinction due to the disease, given its small numbers.

Regarding vaccination, experts stressed that the type of immunization suitable for all affected species has not yet been developed, and noted that no country has yet launched vaccination campaigns for poultry workers or other possible risk groups, although some countries such as how Finland or the US view it.

EFE